Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier (7 April 1506-3 December 1552), born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, was a Navarrese priest who was a co-founder of the Society of Jesus and the first Christian missionary to venture to Japan, Borneo, the Moluccas, and other areas.

Biography
Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was born in Xavier, Navarre in 1506, and, starting in 1525, he studied at the University of Paris for eleven years. He was roommates with Ignatius of Loyola, and the two of them co-founded the Society of Jesus, becoming one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre in 1534. He led an extensive mission into the Portuguese colonies in Asia, and he did extensive evangelizing work, especially in India. He was also the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Moluccas, and other parts of East Asia. In 1552, while preparing to take his evangelism to China, he died on Sao Joao off the coast of Guangdong.